Cards were reissued and we reimbursed them upfront - a lot of them before they had been notified of a problem

Lloyds TSB spokesman

But it would not divulge how the money had been taken for security reasons.

Lloyds became aware of the problem when its Fraud department's early-warning system picked up anomalies on a number of accounts.

It then contacted those affected - reimbursing many people before they were even aware of a problem.

A spokesman said that its reaction to the fraud was evidence of its good security systems.

She said: "Cards were reissued and we reimbursed them upfront - a lot of them before they had been notified of a problem."

Those customers who weren't affected by the fraud have not been informed of the incident.

"We feel that there was no need to warn them. We do not want any scare mongering - this is just a small number of customers who have been affected, " said the spokesman.

Check bank statements thoroughly to avoid fraud

Card fraud is becoming a growing problem for banks and consumers.

It is estimated that thieves pocketed �350m from credit card fraud last year.

And experts say that getting hands on money is child's-play.

One popular method is known as "skimming".

Skimming involves sliding a card through a device which then memorises the numbers of the card's magnetic strip.

The numbers on the cards are then used to make copies which are circulate around the world.